


Scoliosis

by FollowerofMercy



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hey the surgery is real, Medical Conditions, No Smut, Post-Canon, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Scoliosis, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Surgery, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, for anyone with scoliosis, link in description even if you don't want to read, supportive family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 23:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FollowerofMercy/pseuds/FollowerofMercy
Summary: Papyrus expresses concern over Sans's scoliosis. He gets corrective surgery.The surgery is a real thing and I recommend looking at it if you have severe scoliosis.





	Scoliosis

**Author's Note:**

> OK so I do not have scoliosis and don't know **that** much about it, but I do know about Vertebral Body Tether surgery. It's a really awesome thing, minimally invasive, works for teens and people who's spines are still growing. The link in the summary also includes something for adults. It's a newish procedure but one of the ladies in my class had her sister get the surgery and was extremely happy with it. Like, she plays tennis and was back to continue playing within weeks. It's worth taking a look and mentioning to your doctor if you have an issue with scoliosis .

Sans was sitting funny.

Papyrus watched his brother out of the corner of his eye, taking in his stiff posture and the pillow stuffed behind his back as Shark Week blared on the television. Exhaustion drew lines under his sockets from several nights of poor sleep. He was past due for a checkup.

 

“SANS?”

“mm?”

“IS YOUR BACK ACTING OUT AGAIN?”

Sans didn’t answer for a moment, then finally shrugged. “yeah.”

 

Papyrus dropped what he was doing and leaned on the bar separating the living room from the kitchen. “WANT ME TO RUB IT?”

Sans shook his head, a small motion to maintain the comfortable position he found. “i don’t wanna bug you.”

Papyrus squinted. “TOO BAD. LAY DOWN AND TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF.”

Sans did so without further protest, a sure sign of his discomfort. Papyrus tossed a hot pack in the microwave and soaked towels in hot water. Once he had his supplies, he walked over to the couch where Sans had propped his skull on his arms.

“’ppreciate it paps.”

Papyrus frowned at the severe curve of Sans’s spine. His clothes hid it most days, since it curved near equal amounts on both sides in an S shape. He sat down on the edge of the couch, careful not to jostle his brother too much, and set the hot pack and towels around on and in Sans’s ribcage.

“IS IT GETTING WORSE?”

Sans shrugged, tensing when Papyrus prodded his lumbar vertebrae. He’d start there.

Papyrus took his lower spine and pulled it upwards. He wasn’t actually sure if this helped or was even good for Sans’s scoliosis, but it seemed to feel good. Sans sucked in a breath when his back popped and slowly let it out.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“yeah.”

Papyrus continued the massage, mostly small adjustments to his spine, careful not to push him too far. Sans’s shoulder blades slowly lowered into a relaxed position and he sighed, easing under the pressure and the warmth seeping into his bones.

Papyrus worked in silence for a few minutes, the room filled with excited reporters talking about giant carnivorous fish and Sans’s deep breaths. Once Sans loosened up, Papyrus let his mind wander and continued through the motions.

 

“HEY SANS?”

“mmhmmm?”

“HUMANS HAVE SPINES, RIGHT?”

Sans opened his eyes, not quite able to look him in the face without moving his head, but able to see him out of his periphery. “i think so?”

“MAYBE THEY CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!”

Sans looked away and mumbled, “don’t like doctors.”

Papyrus kept up the therapy, pushing down and kneading Sans’s scapulae.  

“WOULDN’T IT BE NICE TO… YOU KNOW, NOT BE IN PAIN ALL THE TIME?”

“it only hurts sometimes.”

“SANS.”

He didn’t answer.

“SANS, I DON’T LIKE SEEING YOU HURT. PLEASE GO TO THE DOCTOR.”

“not like they c’n do anything ‘bout it.”

Papyrus pushed hard on a stubborn spot, making Sans flinch. “YOU DON’T KNOW THAT.”

He worked for a few more minutes, nearing the end of what he knew how to do. Not enough to fix the problem forever. “I’LL MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, OKAY?”

“…okay.”

 

\---

 

Turns out, the humans had a very similar condition. Even better, they recently figured out a new kind of corrective surgery. Sans agreed to it with a lot of begging and puppy eyes from Papyrus and the firm promise that he’d remain _right_ outside the operating room in case anything went wrong. They’d keep the procedure their little secret.

 

\---

 

A few weeks later, Sans stood a little straighter. He joined Papyrus for walks around the block, helped Toriel carry things around her school, even got back into hunching over the tinker table in the shed. Papyrus caught him wincing when he sat up too fast less and less. Overall, Sans looked more comfortable in his own body.

Papyrus still insisted on the occasional backrub, though now he had to avoid the tethers strung from the top of Sans’s thoracic vertebrae to the base of his lumbar. It was… unsettling, to say the least, but Sans kept almost a full range of motion and his spine slowly straightened to look something like a healthy skeleton. They both liked it better than the metal braces the humans used to use.

And it got Sans exercising! Papyrus smiled down at his brother half asleep in the shopping cart as they ran errands. Nothing would ever change Sans being a lazybones, but at least now he was a sloth by choice.

He was glad to have his brother healthy again.


End file.
